Progesterone Therapy for Women

An increasingly common form of treatment for female menopause is progesterone replacement therapy. This is not the same thing as birth control pills that contain progestin, a synthetic chemical that has progesterone-like actions in the uterus but is not identical in structure to endogenous progesterone produced in the ovaries. What is considered bioidentical is natural progesterone that has the same molecular structure as the body’s own hormone. This is what is used by hormone replacement therapy specialists to treat menopause symptoms and other issues that result from a decline in progesterone production.

Progesterone therapy for women can take on many different forms, and that will be covered in the final section of this report. There are also numerous reasons why doctors authorize the use of this treatment in addition to prescribing it for menopausal females. Progesterone helps to prepare the uterus for pregnancy and aids in nurturing the growth of the embryo and fetus.

Some women experience difficulty with ovulation, PMS, and regulating their monthly menstrual cycles. Progesterone can help with these issues, as well as controlling excessive or heavy bleeding. Preventing estrogen dominance is a crucial function or progesterone.

Benefits of Progesterone Therapy

Progesterone is a hormone that helps to regulate metabolism, mood, menstrual cycles, and sleep. A decline in production can make a person overweight, cranky, tired, and facing a vast array of PMS symptoms. That is why many females look forward to the progesterone therapy benefits they will receive once treatment to correct this deficiency begins.

Here are some of the most popular benefits of progesterone therapy for women:

• Helps to strengthen, build, and maintain bones
• Decreases anxiety and stress
• Improves sleep
• Slows the body’s digestive process while increasing metabolism and fat burning abilities
• Is a “source hormone” for the production of other hormones
• Reduces blood pressure
• Lessens severity and frequency of hot flashes and night sweats
• Helps reduce PMS symptoms and heavy menstrual bleeding

There are other progesterone replacement therapy benefits that can affect women during the pregnancy stage of life, including:

• Progesterone during the second half of the menstrual cycle will aid in the secretion of special proteins by the endometrium – this helps thicken the uterine walls for the support of the fertilized egg
• Progesterone helps to reduce feelings of nausea and morning sickness
• Progesterone nourishes the fetus during pregnancy
• Progesterone can help control preeclampsia
• Progesterone helps to induce the milk-producing glands for breastfeeding
• Progesterone helps to improve and stabilize mood for women dealing with postpartum depression

Progesterone therapy is also used by some doctors to prevent subsequent miscarriages in women who have a history of such in past pregnancies. Contradicting studies on this topic are present, but research has shown this to be a safe option worth trying in many cases.

Types of Progesterone Therapy

There are different types of progesterone replacement therapy for female use, depending on the circumstances of the deficiency and the need for treatment. In the case of menopause, the HRT specialist will consider the blood test results as well as the symptoms provided during both the physical examination and in the health history report. A woman who is only dealing with vaginal dryness and/or urinary issues will be given one of the following forms of treatment:

• Vaginal suppositories
• Vaginal gel
• Vaginal inserts
• Oral capsules that can be inserted vaginally

The above-mentioned forms of progesterone will not help with any other symptoms of menopause.

In the case of infertility, doctors often use injectable progesterone therapy for females. The other available forms of treatment for menopause and other issues include:

• Oral progesterone capsules
• Progesterone patches
• Progesterone gel
• Progesterone cream

One last side note: progesterone administered intravenously is used for the treatment of traumatic brain injury to control inflammation and to serve as a natural diuretic.

Kingsberg Medical is a national hormone replacement therapy clinic with experienced specialists who provide local blood analysis and affordable treatment options for women and men dealing with a variety of hormonal deficiencies and imbalances. If you believe that you could benefit from hormone testing and treatment, please contact us for a free and confidential consultation.

Brian Leeber